Endless Nightmares
by DarknessSeeps
Summary: It is 9 years later. But still Max is damaged, having horrible nightmares that follow her everywhere. Max is now slowly recovering from the help of a boy, but then her nightmare comes to life, again...
1. Chapter 1

_**Endless Nightmares**_

**Chapter One**

I love the silence. It is my friend. I always welcome the dead silence. The absence of sounds. The beautiful, pure stillness of the ugly world. I can rest and relax in the empty quiet. In the calm, peaceful, hushed, serene world. A world where I can finally be the real me. The one who hates the noise.

The ghastly drones that echoes in my ears on and on. Giving me horrible headaches and nasty feelings. The uneven _thump thump thump _of footsteps_. _The loud titter of voices around me. The crash, bang and smash. The shouts and shrieks that are never for me. The scraping and screeching of chairs on hard floor like the sound of long nails scratching a blackboard. Even the high-pitched music that is so lovely to others, but it isn't lovely to me, it is torment to me. All of the meaningless sounds. That is why I love the sound of silence. It doesn't give me headaches, bad feelings, tummy aches and earaches.

But it does give me one thing I hate. Endless nightmares. Nightmares in the cold darkness. Nightmares that never end. Nightmares that make me wake up screaming. The silence is the entrance to me for nightmares. Nightmares of that one frozen night. The night when I saw my father being murdered.

It was silent then, I couldn't find my hearing-aids. The wretched hearing-aids. I was trying to find Daddy. I did find him. But when he was being stabbed to death with a wicked knife that used to be harmless to me. His mouth was open so I knew he was screaming in pain, but I couldn't hear, I couldn't help. I stood there at the top of the stairs, knowing it was too late.

Each night I dream of that night, the night that had changed my whole life. A life that used to be easy-going and painless. The life I wish I could still lead. When I had Daddy and when my brother was well, when my Mum was a strong person and when I was happy. After that night my life transformed into a fury of life. A life where I hate myself, where my mother is depressed, where my brother is ill.

I should have lost the nightmares that followed me everywhere, I should have forgotten that night. But I haven't. And I never will.

I will never recover. The hole in my heart will never go. The wounds and scars that are imprinted inside me will never heal. I will never be better.

But Mum is worst. Also my brother is very ill. They are no better than me. I am the lucky one in the family. But I feel like I'm all alone, invisible. If I have tears in my eyes at school no one would care. No one want to know me or talk to me. I'm the freak at school. And I like it like that. Nobody will find out my secrets that destroy me each night.

I tried to make a different pain, to distract me. I cut myself, making long deep scars that healed last year. But they didn't work. They weren't powerful enough, and they didn't last long. And my mother saw them.

Mum was dazed when she saw them, her face slowly registered. But too slowly. By the time she realised what was going on I was out of the door.

I hate my new life.

I wish the nightmares and the night would vanish into thin air. Never returning.

Each night I scream, panting after I see her face. Looking up at me, from down the stairs, next to my bloodied father. With the deadly knife in her hand. The knife that cut my family forever. She would be panting as well, a fierce blood-lust look in her black eyes. In every nightmare, I turn from her to run but I feel a cold, rough hand through my thin cotton clothes. She would pull me until I'm falling with her down the stairs.

She is always in my nightmares, when it is silent. Her name is Leena.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

I'm walking in the dark. No sounds around me, all silent. I tiptoe down the long, darkening corridor. Unwelcoming memories pop to the front of my mind. But I ignore them, wanting to see my Daddy.

It is when I stand at the top of the wooden stairs that I realise this is another nightmare. I try to turn and run but I can't control my frail body. My legs tremble as I watch Daddy fall, blood-soaked and wounded. Behind him is Leena.

The girl who I thought I could trust. The girl I thought was my sister. The girl who I thought loved Daddy. Mum has always reminded me that she was a 30 years old woman, not a child. But I always saw her as the black-haired 9 years old.

Leena looks up, her hand clinging to the knife. Her black eyes soulless and empty, like deep holes of burning black fire. She slowly smirks and stands up.

I spin on my shivering legs, I try to take off to safety but like usual I stay there, not in control of my body. The hand that haunts my dreams grabs my shoulder, cold and hard like ice. I feel myself tipping over, falling. I try to squeeze shut my eyes but they don't dare blink. My uncontrollable body flies through the stiff air with Leena, down the endless stairs. Never stopping. We tumble for ages, her hand still firm on me. As I whirl in the air I keep seeing her bloodied face, a mean smirk on her pale face. I try to wake up screaming, because this is the moment when I should wake up. But I don't wake up. I contion falling in the empty darkness with my nightmare, Leena. We fall and tumble and swirl in the dark silence.

Until everything disappears and I'm in a bright light. I blink and try to see past the blaring light that burns my eyes, blinding me. I try to move but I am trapped, tied at the wrists and ankles. I open my mouth to scream for help but nothing comes out. I'm stuck and trapped. I try to hear but there is only silence, so my hearing-aids aren't in.

Suddenly a crimson hand with long nails clutch my arm, nails digging into my skin. My eyes widen when I see Mum. She is bloody and ragged, her brown hair greasy and tangled, she is wearing blood-soaked, muddy clothes. Her mouth opens as she talks, but I cannot hear. She realises this and slowly mouths_, be silent, she is here. _I stop struggling against the ropes that trap me. I stare at her, unsure if she is telling the truth. Leena cannot be back.

Okay, her body was missing. But Mum said she had given up and left, and that the police are still looking for her. Leena cannot be back. She can't. She already destroyed our lives.

The lights go out, swallowing us into darkness. I try to speak for Mum, to tell her to stay by me. But no words come out. I stay focused on her long nails on my skin. In the darkness I see a shadow swiftly moving around the bed. I try to warn Mum but she has disappeared. Her nails leaving scars on my arm, I cannot see her in the dark. My Mum is gone. I start to cry, sobbing silent tears.

I am all alone in the darkness, with Leena in the room, with Mum gone. I lie my head on the hard metal bed, giving up. I don't care what she will do to me, unless she gets it done with.

I flutter my eyes open. Panting, sweating and screaming. Then I stop, looking around. I am back in my bedroom, for the first time I love the sight of my blue walls, the shells on the windowsill, the lines of books and DVDs on a shelf and my ragged school bag on the floor. I take in the lines of my picture frames of my Mum, Daniel and Daddy. Telling myself that it was a dream. Another long nightmare. A very different dream, with a different horrible ending. I was right I will never heal.

The morning light of the rising sun welcomes me through the thin purple curtains. I glance at the clock on my bedside table. It is 8:35. I leap up out of my bed, making myself blind for a couple seconds. I yank on the jeans for school and a jumper. I quickly apply eyeliner and lip-gloss to attract attention from my dark circles under my heavy eyes. I go downstairs, with my bag on my arm.

In the kitchen I grab a slice of bread and pop it in the toaster. Then I turn to Mum, who is standing mointless, staring out of the window. Her hair ragged and dirty, her nails bitten and chewed, her body frail and bony from the lack of food. Mum had never got better after seeing her husband dead. She had loved him dearly, and she has never stopped loving him. In the locket around her thin neck is a photo of her and Daddy. Happy faces, colour on her plum cheeks. Nowadays she just drift out of daze, visiting the world of dreams where she see her husband then coming back to the real world.

I have to feed her and Dan, to keep us going. I never tell any teachers at school about my family or they would call the services and pull me away from Mum and Dan. The only reason why I keep living is because of Mum and my brother. I will look after them, no matter what.

I eat the bread when it's done, and shout a bye to Mum and run out of the door. I walk along the high balences of the flats to the stairs. We now live in a horrible flat with stinking rotting holes in the corners.

I rush when I see the up-coming bus. I just got to it in time and I snatch a seat. I stare out of the frosted window, out at New York.

After the night, we moved to New York to be as far away from the house that haunts us. It is nice here, but I miss the old days. I look around the smelling bus, glimpsing the faces of other 16 years olds at my school. They glance at me but don't acknowledge me. I see Hannah, the blonde tart in my some of my classes, she is tall and sleek with cat-eyes. She is normally followed by a flock of boys and girls. I only spoken to her once. When she was asking me to do her homework and I said no, she was angry and told the whole school lies about me. But I didn't care.

The bus stop at the gates to hell. My school, full of slappers, jocks and bullies. But this is the last year, nearly the end of hell, then I will be out of here.

I stride through the crowds of gossiping kids, hugging and shrieking when they see each others. When I am finally safety inside I sigh with relief. I try to get to my class, but I bump into someone.

It is someone tall and lean. A boy about my age. I look up to his face, he is smiling down at me. He is an Italian with tanned skin and jet black hair and muddy brown eyes. His face is a beautiful sight of happiness, his eyes round and big with interest.

"Hello, my name is Chris. I'm new here, pretty scared." He holds out his hand, I stare at it, surprised that her wants to shake my hand. He realises that I'm not going to shake so he drops it down. "Are you going to tell me your name? Or are you going to be a mystery?"

I gulp, feeling abbersmed and I duck around him. I will be a mystery to him, it's better like that.

"Ohh so you are going to be a mystery then? Okay then I will find out your name from someone else." Chris calls out behind me as I walk off.

I lamely smile at his humour.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

So far today I have to admit that it is a good day. No one bothering me, no teachers asking me why I haven't done my homework. Good so far. I'm in my last lesson, English, the best subject but I dislike my lazy teacher greatly. Right now, he is sitting at his desk with his feet up, he is reading the newspaper like usual. The streams of students stop flowing in, but still he just reads. Mr Jenson is bald with a line of grey hair on his jaw, he has narrow grey eyes that never seem to open, he is short with a round belly.

Finally, he puts down the newspaper and stands up, he smiles at us. So this means he is in a good mood. Thank god. He writes on the board the title of what we are going to do.

"Mr Jenson, can I just ask. What were you reading then? You were taking a long a time." A voice echoes behind me, it is Hannah.

Mr Jenson turns, his eyes slightly widen. "Haven't you heard the news? Oh course you haven't, silly me. Teens don't care about the news. Though they should."

"I do read the news but I haven't recently." Hannah defends herself. I raise my eyebrows, Hannah reading, hard to image. Mr Jenson thinks so too because he chuckles for a second.

"Hannah, dear. The news today is about a murder. A man aged 24 was stabbed to death last night, somewhere near here. And his gun, the one he was known for carrying, is missing. The murderer took it, and that person is somewhere near here." Mr Jenson smirks when the class gasp, "so kids, I'd be careful if I were you."

The class goes wild, shouting at Mr Jenson that he should be careful as well. But all I could think is, what if the murderer is Leena. What if the nightmare was true, that she would come for me and my family. What if the dreams are trying to warn me.

I slam shut the door of our apartment, the smell of rotting fruits and unclean toilets reach me. I wince at the smell, I'm walking up the stairs when there is a stumble behind me. I turn to see Mum looking up at me, scared eyes, and nails clinging to the stairs railing. She isn't in her dream world, I smile slowly and fling myself into her arms. We hug until Mum pushes me away and stare into my eyes.

"She's back. I read the newspaper. It is her," her voice cracks as she limply sits down on the stairs. She had never said Leena's name out loud, maybe because her name brings back uninvited memories.

I grab her hands and say, "there are many murderers in the world. So it can't be her. And you told me yourself the police are looking for her."

"The police!" Mum glances up, she walks into the kitchen and picks up the phone. She dials someone rapidly, then she waits. At last she speaks, "Hello! It's me, Kate. We heard the news and I'm worried if it's her. Please can you come around for a couple days. I'm so sorry that I'm bothering you, but I don't feel safe."

There is talking, a deep voice on the other side of the line. I couldn't hear what he is saying, but from her face I know he said yes.

"Thank you so much, Marshall. We all thank you gratefully. Okay I will see you tomorrow. Bye!" Mum now has a smile on her pale face. "Do you remember Rich Marshall. He is the police chief of the town we used to live in. He helped us greatly, he took us here from the house and babysat you and Dan when I looked around for a job. It was hard saying bye to him."

I nod, remembering the beard and big eyes of a nice man. At least he will get Mum back together, hopefully.

It is strange to see Mum chatting and smiling after three days, but I don't care because I love Mum when she is like this. She goes to the shower to have a wash so I go to Dan's room.

"Hey Danny! It's me, can I come in?" I tap on Dan's black-painted door, his door has a sign that says _Keep Out_.

"Max?" A frail voice calls out, the door opens and I walk into the dark.

I fumble for the lights switch, the lights burst to life. I turn to my brother. He is now 20 years old and he has a job at a super-market, the problem is he sometimes can't breath and panics so the boss has to give him lots of free time in his office. Dan had brown hair but he dyed it black, the same colour as his black walls in this room. He also has terrible nightmares of Leena in the treehouse and on top of him trying to kill him. He was very lucky to survive. But now he just traps himself in his dark room listening to loud music, maybe to block out Leena's voice. Also he is very grumpy for a 20 years old.

"Oi do you have to turn on the lights!" Dan croaks out.

"Yes I have to. Mum is better today," I say.

"Really? When I came in she was in her daze. I guess I need to see her soon." Dan slumps down his bed. His arm is bare so it displays the burn he had after the fire on the treehouse.

"Yeah, but she is a bit stressed out because of the murder." I sit next to him.

"Murders. You mean murders." Dan reply.

I glance at him, "what do you mean. Are you saying there isn't one murder."

"There had been three murders last night. One victim your age, one Mum's age and one 24, all near here. And two were stabbed, while the other was shot. So the murderer is a serial killer."

I shiver at the word 'serial killer'. Still I wonder if it is Leena.

"Do you think it's Leena?" I slowly ask, as if her name would break something inside Dan.

He winces but nods.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

I stare at myself in the dirty mirror, I'm thinking of the murders that happened. My dark blonde hair is tangled and greasy, no matter how many times I wash it. My brown eyes wide and framed by long lashes. I'm short and slender with the same locks as Mum.

I grab a toast and said bye to Mum, who is busy on her laptop. She isn't in her long daze, thankfully. Marshall said he will be here tonight, as soon as he can to help Mum.

I race to the bus, I swing into a seat next to the window. As the bus drives through the crowded city, I stare outside onto the people buzzing around. Different hair colours and styles, different clothes, this world is so full.

Suddenly I lunge away from the window when I see a small girl. She has jet black hair and pale skin, just like Leena. I trembled as the girl skipped along the pavement, she looks so like Leena, but I know Leena isn't stupid to go out in the open.

The tiny girl spins towards me, she stares at me, her black eyes dark. She grins and laughs when a black-haired woman picked her up from behind and swirls her around in the air. I try to relax when the girl and her mother disappear from my view. I fiddle with my curls nervously, the girl across me frowns at me. I breathe deeply until the school buildings come into my sight.

"Hey!" the deep voice calls, I turn to Chris striding up to me, his bulky shoulders make him look massive.

I just stare at his shoes which are black boots. I don't dare look into his beautiful brown eyes that are ringed with gold.

"I now know your name," he winks, his grin cheesy.

"You do?" I stupidly glance up and get caught in the gaze of his eyes.

"Ah, now you are speaking. And you do have a nice voice." Chris smiles, his eyes sparkles.

I frown, my voice isn't like other girls' whose are perfect. It is deep and slow, and the words sometimes don't sound right because I used to sign more than speaking.

I just stare at him, not saying a thing.

"Your name is Maxine Coleman," Chris says, smirking.

"Just Max," I reply.

Chris raises his eyebrows, "okay Max. What is your next lesson?"

"Art," I smile, Art is my favourite lesson next to English.

"With Mrs Long?" Chris asks.

"Yes."

Chris grins, showing pure white teeth. "Then would you please show me the way? And will you sit next to me?"

"Um, okay," I blush. No one had ever wanted to sit next to me. And the first person who wants to be friends with me is a handsome Italian boy.

I lead him to the large art room, we grab a desk together. Oh course we are the first in the room with Mrs Long. She is a tall, thin woman with greying brown hair.

"Hello Max. Welcome here Chris, and thank you for helping me with the papers." Mrs Long greets us.

I lean to Chris, whispering. "What papers?"

"Mrs Long dropped some huge files of paper so I helped her to carry them," Chris answers.

The bell rings and the rest of the class falls into the room. The last teens arriving is Hannah and her stupid friend, Tia. Hannah scans the room, looking for a spot to sit, her eyes rest on Chris. She frowns when she sees me next to Chris, she swiftly saunters to our table which is empty expect me and Chris. Hannah and Tia grab chairs, Tia looks disgusted to sit next to me while Hannah sweetly smirks at Chris. It's pretty easy to see that Hannah has a thing a for Chris.

"Hey, Chris. How are you today?" Hannah flicks her dyed blonde hair back, exposing her bare slender neck.

"I'm good, thanks," Chris smiles kindly. I can see that he isn't interested in Hannah, thank god for that!

"Just a warning, there's a psycho here with us. So don't get any near her," Hannah flashes her eyes towards me.

I roll my eyes, Tia crackles at the lame joke. Chris glances at me.

"You know she can hear you." Chris says to Hannah, his eyes going dark.

"Oh don't worry, she can't hear. You know she's deaf, right?" Hannah lies her long fingers on Chris's tan arm.

"I can still hear, you know." I decide to pipe up for once to shock her.

Hannah now glares at me, "whatever. You're still insane. Anyways, Chris there is a party this weekend, would you like to come with me?"

Chris stares at her and jerks his arm out her reach, "no. And Hannah, not to be mean or anything but me and Max don't want you with us."

Hannah's fake smile falls, her eyes suddenly look terrifying and dark with anger and jealously. She abruptly stands up and stalks off with Tia at her feet.

Chris turns to me, "are you okay? She was pretty mean to you."

"Yeah I'm alright." I shyly glance away from his gold-ringed eyes. "Thank you for defending me. No one had ever done that for me before."

"Really? That's hard to believe because you are lovely!" Chris exclaim.

I chuckle, not because of what he said but because Chris is really actually lightening my mood up.

"Wow! Your laugh sounds great. I'm going to make you laugh more in the future," Chris wraps his arm around me. I sink into the warmth of his skin, smelling his gorgeous cologne.

In the corner of my eye I see Hannah glaring at us, jealously and hatred in her eyes. But I don't care.

"Kiddys, sorry but you must _do _your work now!" Mrs Long orders me and Chris.

We pull apart, laughing. For the first time I feel so happy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter five**

Walking out of my last class, I rush through the empty corridor. My books hanging from my arm, I wonder if the bus is still waiting, hopefully. I pant as I run, grunting at the weight of the books. The reason why I am late is because my maths teacher wanted to have a word with me and give me some books to look at for the upcoming exam. The problem about my maths teacher is that she talks a lot.

I nearly scream in anger when the heavy books clatter onto the floor, making echoes down the corridor. I sigh, kneeling to pick up the stupid books.

By the time I got outside, the bus is nowhere in sight. Oh how great. I groan, slumping as I lean onto the wall. It will be about an hour to get home, wonderful. I try to squeeze all of the books into the bag, only successfully getting two in. I grip onto the remaining books as I stroll across the parking, wishing for the first time that I got a car. I reach the gates then decide to hurry up because of the darkening sky. I hate the dark, specially outside.

Shame that I have no money for the buses that run around the city. Maybe I could stick out a thumb, waiting for a nice stranger to pick me up or something. No, I don't trust strangers, because of Leena.

In a near run I walk through the streets of silence. The corners of the streets dark and black, reminding me of death. Suddenly the nightmare comes back to me. The silence and dark. Down the stairs, watching Leena kill my father. Falling with Leena through endless darkness.

I jolt awake, blinking at the shop in front of me. It is a sweet shop, I must have stood there, going through the nightmare. I back away the spot I was standing in, shock at the sudden dream. I have never had the nightmare while awake. I must be getting worst.

I force myself to walk on, glancing at the sun that is slowly disappearing behind the clouds. I urge my sore feet to move on, telling myself not to stick out my thumb for strangers who might enjoy hurting me.

As I stride through the streets, I think about my mum and Dan. About the torment of the memories after Daddy's death.

_I glanced at the gun resting on the blanket of chilled snow, a strange tingle washed through me. My eyes filled with tears, my fingers growing numb from the cold of the white snowflakes settling on me. I was dressed in my jimjams so I was freezing to death, my toes slowly turning blue. I gulped away the fear of the gun and I reached down, placing my frozen fingers on the cold hard black thing. I picked the heavy gun up, the weight in my hand felt strange. _

_My hair swirled around my face in the wind as I slowly raised the gun up, pointing it at my mother and Leena on the lake. I started to point it at Mum, blinded by the thickness of my hair, but it was the course of fear and terror that flew through my body that told me not to shoot. I swiped the hair out of my eyes and nervously aimed at Leena. A frightening feel of thrill went through me, I blinked at the feeling, shocked that I wanted to so murder Leena. _

_A nasty deep voice echoed in my head, rolling around the walls of my brain. "Go on, shoot. Do the right thing, kill her. She tried to kill you, she killed Daddy. So she deserve to be sent to hell." I whimpered at the voice, tears staining my face. I placed my finger on the trigger. But no I couldn't do it. I couldn't be a murderer. Even if Leena killed my father._

_I jerkily aimed the lake, I pushed out the demanding voice in my skull. The gun whispered to me the word shoot shoot shoot over several times. I finally squeezed the trigger._

_A echoing quiver ran along my hand, the gun vibrated in my hand. I knew if I could hear there would be a huge loud bang ringing across the lake. The force of the shoot send me flying backwards, the gun jumping out of my grasp. The snowflakes seemed to stop flowing, frozen in time. As well as the whirl of the trees leaves and the wind's blow all froze. I froze as well. The dampness of the snow underneath soaking into me, my tears turned icy from the coldness. Everything looked still and dead._

_Was it because I was dead?_

_I weakly climbed to my feet, trembling and shivering with fear. I walked to the edge of the snow to see the lake._

_There was a large hole in the middle of the white lake, sharp jagged cracks along the edges of the crooked hole. I cried out loud when I couldn't see Mum. She was gone. I crept along the icy, slippery lake, the blood inside my feet frozen and icy. I tried to see inside the hole, into the darkness of the lake._

_But a huge splash of freezing water appeared from the hole, the silky cold water reached the tips of my toes. Mum crawled out of the lake, panting and soaked with water and blood. She signed at me to back away from the hole, I obeyed. _

_But Leena suddenly came back, dragging onto Mum, bloodied and wet. I gasped, fear and horror flying around me. Leena's face was damp and scarred, her jet black hair soaking, her clothes mixed with blood and water. _

_She whispered something, her face filled with fear. I narrowed my eyes to try and work out what she was saying. She said "Mummy please don't kill me."_

_But Mum did tried to kill her, kicking her in the face, sending her back into the water._

And she is not dead. She is around. Waiting.

I wade along the silent street, in the unwelcoming dark. My feet pounding on the hard pavement is the only sound here. The only light is the dim moonlight that glisten onto my back, the dancing bright stars dizzily swirl. The dark, empty shops are bare and look ruined and destroyed. In the only passing cars, the faces are in shadows so you can't see them.

I ignore the painful fear inside my stomach, I grip my round fists, listening to every sound of life. The sounds of slow cars, my footsteps, the rustling wind. But thankfully she doesn't come.

I'm walking around a corner when a red beetle drives pass me. I glance at the lovely red car that look like it is covered in bright blood-red lipstick. I admire the sleek movement of it, the round head on top. I abruptly stop my stroll, standing still as the sleek car that glows in the dark stops next to me. The window rolls down, revealing Chris behind it. He winks at me, his dark eyes glistening, he opens the passenger door.

"Greetings Max. Can I just ask? Are you stupid or what to be out in the dark?" He laughs at me pulling a face at him.

"Not my fault, my maths teacher wanted to talk to me and she talks for ages," I drag the word 'ages' to prove my point.

"Ah and you couldn't phone someone?" he says as I walk around to the door.

"I don't have a phone."

"Oh eh. Then that's bad." Chris speeds across the road when I tug in the seat belt in it's place. "So where do you live?"

I pause, unsure if he would laugh when he hear where I live, and if he laughs I don't blame him. But I tell him my address anyway.

He nods, turning the direction. "Horrible street isn't it?"

"Yep, very," I agree.

"So tell me more about you…?" Chris suddenly asks curiously.

I froze, does he want to know my past? No I will not let him. But is I don't tell him he will keep going on about it. And I want to know more about him as well. Fine I will just tell a little.

"Well, there's not much to tell. I have a Mum and a brother called Danny. I love them very dearly. If anyone hurts them I cannot live on." My voice cracks as tears well up.

But Chris doesn't see so he asks more. "Did you always live here?"

Now that is not where I want to go to. I shift on my seat, uncomfortable and unhappy.

"I rather talk about something else," I say.

"Oh okay. Sorry, how about you ask me questions?" Chris smiles at me, his face falls at the sight of my tears. "Oh Maxie! What's the matter? Did I say something?"

"I'm fine, I just don't want to talk about my past." I shove his comforting hand away, flinching at the pain my throat. "So Chris tell me about yourself." I move the subject to him.

He shrugs, "not much. I have a normal family that I love. I have two brothers, they are great jokers, both older than me. My Mum is from Britain, so she cooks English food. My father is a lawyer so he is rarely home, but when he is around I always play footie with him. It's my Nana who I love the most, she is loud and bold just like me. She was born blind so she doesn't know what colours look like, it's pretty sad but I let her know that red is hot and blue is cold. I admire her strength and honesty, she isn't afraid to reveal what she is."

I blink, wow. This is a boy who loves his family so much, so unlike the other boys at the schools who couldn't be bothered.

I do like Chris.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"So Max tell me about yourself." Chris smiled gently at me as he drives, the building of my flat coming near. I gulp and decide to wait till we get to the parking without telling him anything.

"So are you going to tell me anything?" Chris asks again, his eyes flicking towards me. I shake my head, he nods, understanding me.

"Okay, so… uh, are you… free this err weekend?" Chris is suddenly shy.

I glance over at him and smile nervously. "I don't think so."

"Um good, so do you want to err.. Go out with me. I don't mean a date or something! Just for fun, you know." Chris swallows and turns the car onto the car park of the flats.

"Yeah, sure I would love to!" My voice goes higher than I want it to.

Chris looks over at me, a grin widens on his tanned face. "Shall we catch a movie then?"

"Oh yes! There's a movie that I heard is good, we could watch that," I smile.

"Great! Can I just have your phone number so when I get here I can call you." He pulls out his blackberry and hands it to me. I type in my phone number, my insides bursting with happiness. I start to get out when Chris runs out and opens the door for me, I blush lamely and whisper a thanks to him.

"I'll walk you to your apartment, if you don't mind." Chris stuffs his hands in his pockets and stares down at the ground, afraid to look me in the eyes if I say no.

"Thank you, I would love that." I try to make him feel comfortable.

We walk by each other sides towards my apartment, I lead the way up the stairs and I start to fiddle with my fingers cautiously when we get to my door. We stand there, staring at each others under the stars. I gulp and my cheeks redden when he leans in.

Suddenly the door of my apartment flies open, we leap into the air with shock and fright. Without knowing I grab Chris' hand. He glances at me in surprise but I don't acknowledge him. We turn to the open door with bright light streaming out from the inside.

I frown when I see a man standing there, he has cubby red cheeks and greying black hair. It is the silver grey eyes that make me gasp, the man is Marshall, the man who I long forgotten, the man whose looks had totally changed. I smile at him but my face drops when I see his face. He looks afraid and his eyes are full of fear, he abruptly grabs me and jerks me inside, I pull Chris in with me. I glance up at Marshall in surprise but he is gazing at Chris.

"Who is this?" His voice is low and menacing. Next to me, Chris takes a slight step back.

"This is Chris, a friend of mine. He drove me here. Marshall it had been years-" I start.

But I'm cut off by Mom screaming and lunging at me. I fall to the floor under her heavy weight. She kisses non-stop on my forehead, teas dripping onto my face.

"Mom what is the matter with you!" I exclaim.

"I thought you were missing! I was so scared and worried but Marshall stopped me going out to find you." Mom cried, her tight grip squeezes the breath out of me.

"Maxine, we thought she had you." Marshall says tersely.

"She?" I ask, even though a chewing thing inside me makes me know what who he meant. Chris glance around with a confused expression on his face, he sares at me questioning.

"You know who I mean." Marshall grimaces, he crosses his arms over his chest with a blank look on his face.

"No I don't," I insist, hoping that the doubt in me is just a lie.

"Leena is alive." Those three words shakes something inside me, I begin to shiver violently, tears stain my cheeks.

"No." A weak whimper escape my lips.

"She is around here, I send the police force to find her. We just found out after one policeman spotted her yesterday. I came straight here to keep you, Kate and Daniel safe." Marshall quietly says, he pats my arm awkwardly.

I tremble and wrap my arms around Mom, I glance at Chris who is frowning. I know that he will be asking me who Leena is, and I know that I will have to tell him the truth even if it chases him away.

Then a thought comes back to me, "Where is Danny!"

"We don't know, he went to work this morning. I called his boss but he said that he left at lunch. And he isn't here," Mom sobbed.

I stare at Mom before I blanked out.

I wake up in dark room. I mumble and feel around for anything at all to hold onto. A warm hand grasps me and I grip it hard. I grumble for the lights and the bare bulb flashes to life. I glance around to see Chris next to me. He smiles down at me gently.

"Where am I?" I ask.

He chuckles slightly, "In your room."

"Oh," I just say. Ah yes, he is right. I'm in my bedroom, I then blush when I realise that I am alone with him in my room. I wonder what he thinks of my dull room.

"Are you okay?" He squeezes on my hand, staring into my eyes.

"Yeah, I'm okay now. What happened?"

He gazes at me with surprise in his eyes. "You don't remember! Well, I can't really tell you because I don't understand it myself." Something dark flickers through his eyes but I dismiss it, thinking it is just that he is tired.

"I can't really remember, only that Marshall swung open the door when we were about to-" I cut off when I remember everything. When Chris leaned down to kiss me, when Marshall acted strange, when Mom was sobbing, when they told me that Leena is around and that Danny is missing. "Oh my god! Where is Danny!"

"Is Danny your brother?" Chris asks.

"Yes, I now remember everything! Where is Mom and Marshall, I need to talk to them." I cry out.

"Whoa, wait wait! They are okay, they are in the living room. You can see them soon but can you just please explain everything to me first." A pained expression comes onto his face.

I stare at him and gulp. I know that he deserves to know the truth, so he could leave me and be safe. "Chris, you are not going to like what I am going to tell you."


End file.
